Company's core importance to the parent and a track record of parent capital contributions. Large and diverse U.S. business franchise integral to parent's global strategy. Improving capital measures and profitability. The core consumer business, Personal Financial Services, is still a weak earnings contributor as a result of continued mortgage loan impairment charges. High exposure to more volatile—and sometimes more profitable—Global Investment Banking Weak asset quality but improving with industry trends. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' ratings on HSBC USA Inc. and its bank subsidiary, HSBC Bank USA N.A., reflect the implied and demonstrated support of their ultimate parent, HSBC Holdings PLC (AA-/Stable/A-1+). A very significant ratings factor is our belief that HSBC USA is a core, integral subsidiary of the
